Amid a protracted debate over whether the Menendez brothers should be freed from prison decades after being convicted of murdering their parents, L.A. County’s top law enforcement official is voicing a scathing opinion on the case.
In a statement released Wednesday morning, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said explicitly that he believes Lyle and Erik Menendez “have never fully accepted responsibility for the horrific murders of their parents.”
“Instead, [they continue] to promote a false narrative of self-defense that was rejected by the jury decades ago,” Hochman’s statement reads. “We have consistently opposed their release because they have not demonstrated full insight into their crimes or shown that they have been fully rehabilitated, and therefore continue to pose a risk to society.”
According to Hochman, the gravity of the brothers’ murders “cannot be minimized without undermining confidence in the justice system” and pointed to another case involving parole being denied to an infamous offender: Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, was denied parole by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March 2023 because Sirhan, now 81, failed to exhibit full insight and responsibility for his actions, which is a critical factor in determining one’s eligibility for parole.
“The same principle applies to [the Menendez brothers’ case],” Hochman said.
The DA also noted that recent documentaries and films have “drawn renewed attention” to the case, but he expressed that anything not involving “the facts and the law” would not be considered.
“This case, like all cases — especially those that captivate the public — must be viewed with a critical eye. Justice should never be swayed by spectacle,” Hochman said. “My personal opinions are irrelevant. What matters and what guides my office is the evidence, the facts of the case, and the application of the law.”
Lyle and Erik Menendez shot and and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in August of 1989, when they were 21 and 18, respectively. They were accused of first-degree murder and tried separately, with both juries coming to a deadlock in 1994. A retrial began the following year — with just one jury — and the brothers were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July 1996.
Decades passed before the brothers’ family asked the courts in 2023 to reexamine the conviction in light of new evidence and allegations against Jose Menendez, who was a record executive at RCA Records, that included a letter reportedly written by Erik that claimed his father sexually assaulted him as a child. Another letter from a former member of the boy band Menudo that was also submitted purportedly accused Jose of raping him when he was 14.
In September 2024, a nine-episode Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” was released, which reignited public interest in the case. In October, then-District Attorney George Gascón announced his office would be reevaluating new evidence before doubling down and publicly voicing his support for their resentencing. Both sides of the family held a press conference pleading for their release shortly after.
Gascón’s announcement, however, was all but nullified the next month when he lost his re-election bid to Nathan Hochman, who has time and again expressed hesitancy and disapproval when it comes to freeing the brothers.
“Here’s my approach, whether it’s the Menendez case or quite honestly any case: you have to do the hard work,” Hochman told KTLA on Nov. 6, shortly after he defeated Gascón. “You have to look, in that case, at thousands of pages of confidential prison files, you have to review thousands of trial transcripts from months-long trials, and you have to speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement and the defense counsel…and the victims’ families.”
“Only then can you be in a position to determine whether resentencing is the remedy in this situation or whether what is asked for in the resentencing is the appropriate request,” he continued. “I’m not in that position now, but I can tell you if I do have to make that call, I will do the hard work to make the right decision.”
After taking office, Hochman said publicly that the courts should deny the brothers’ habeas petition. Legal experts also casted doubt on other ways for the brothers to be freed, such as a clemency request from the governor — Newsom said previously that he will defer the decision until Hochman reviews the evidence.
The resentencing hearing for the brothers, who have spent 35 years in prison, did proceed earlier this year despite Hochman’s attempts to stop it. At the hearing, a judge resentenced them from life in prison to a 50-year sentence, automatically making Lyle and Erik, now 57 and 54, respectively, eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law since they committed the crime under the age of 26.
The state parole board must still decide whether to release them from prison.
“I’m not saying they should be released, it’s not for me to decide,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said when the resentencing was announced on May 13. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”
Click here to view Hochman’s Statement of View on the Menendez brothers case. A video discussing “The Anatomy of the Menendez Case” that was published by the DA’s office is available to view here.
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